"Unveiling the Silent Threat: Single Umbilical Artery with Congenital Heart Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension in a Neonate"

Abstract

The umbilical cord typically contains two arteries and one vein. Occasionally, one artery may be absent, with the left artery being more commonly affected than the right(1). Single Umbilical Artery (SUA) is the most common abnormality of the umbilical cord. SUA can be diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound as early as 12 weeks of gestation. Ultrasound findings useful for this diagnosis include the presence of two vessels on a cross-section of the free loop of the cord(2) and observation of the arteries coursing around the bladder in the fetal pelvis. Numerous studies have reported that the presence of SUA is associated with a variety of congenital anomalies, chromosomal defects, aneuploidy, and low birth weight.(3)The incidence estimates of SUA from different countries range from 0.2 to 0.87%.